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2007 Milledge acts like he`s the second coming of Deion Sanders, Rickey Henderson, and Madonna combined, not exactly the best way to win friends and influence people. Statistical comparisons to Jack Clark or Adrian Beltre aside, a more instructive comparison might be to Rondell White or Brian Jordan. That ain`t bad--prior to turning 30, White was a career .295/.351/.484 hitter, while Jordan finished his peak period at .291/.339/.474--but it doesn`t make you a star or even an All-Star in most seasons (White and Jordan made one All-Star team each). Given Milledge`s youth, significant growth is still possible, but, for now, the disconnect between Milledge`s self-regard and his actual abilities is the reason the Mets haven`t wholly committed to him. 2006 The split year between St. Lucie and Binghamton did nothing to halt the bandwagon. A nice star turn in the AFL made the picture even brighter, although nothing can buck up a hitter`s numbers like a trip to Arizona, regardless of the time of year. If he continues the split-season program, he`ll be in the Shea outfield by the middle of 2007, possibly sooner. More power will come with physical maturity, but to really live up to the hype he`ll need to polish his game in the field, on the bases, and particularly by learning the strike zone. 2005 The Mets' #1 pick in the 2003 draft got a late start after breaking his finger in spring training, then tore apart the Sally League for three months. He's a big-time tools guy who can actually apply his power and speed. Milledge has so little pro experience that you can excuse his lack of patience at the plate so far, especially since his strikeout rate wasn't out of hand in Capital City. We'll learn a lot this year. Aside: There are a lot of great names in this system, names that top anything Dickens could come up with.
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